When The Predator Becomes Prey
by Lady Beast Charmer
Summary: Our parents tell us to choose our friends wisely, but sometimes our enemies must become our allies so we can both survive. Yautja captive Cassandra Hunter is learning this the hard way, as she treks through hot unbearable jungle with Aliens at her heels.
1. Chapter 1: Cassandra Hunter

**Seeing as I wrote this story before watching AVPR it really was just a story line I came up with but I was happy to see something similar happened at the end of the movie (the weapon being taken) so I rewrote a bit to go along with it. The rest of the story will make much more sense as it goes on.**

When the Predator Becomes Prey

_Chapter 1_

**Cassandra "Prey" Hunter**

Cassie dotted the last I and crossed the final T giving a great sigh of relief as she leaned back in her chair. She HATED paper work and was glad to be done with it finally. The laboratory was so quiet. Everyone had already left to their nice comfy cots, actually they were excruciatingly uncomfortable, but at least they got to get some sleep. She checked her watch, it was 2 AM. She yawned opening her mouth to full size and stretched. That was ok, she was quite nocturnal, but she did miss this thing called "sleep" quite badly. Suddenly her stomach roared and Cassie looked at it bewilderedly.

"What the hell? Do I have an alien baby in my belly?" She laughed at herself, but in all seriousness she knew it could be possible if the lab were to lose one of their subjects.

When a company declaring to be a branch of the U.S government requested Cassandra's skills as a zoologist and animal behaviorist she was a little surprised. She had become world renown for her way with animals, but what could the government want her involved in that was so "hush hush". At 22 she was very young to have so many accomplishments and had been asked on very difficult and dangerous projects all over the globe, but when she found out what is was they wanted of her, she was dumbfounded.

Aliens, she'd never been one to care too much about space and what it held, but aliens she had always had an irrational fear of all of her life (along with ghosts) and a belief that they existed, but obviously never cared to meet one. The deep unexplored regions of the universe had never inspired her. She was a star gazer, a dreamer, but the world beyond this one had always seemed too much of a mystery, one that she knew she'd never be able to solve, so instead found comfort in discovering her home planet's great enigmas.

But here she was, and here THEY were. She had been commissioned to come to this hidden facility deep in the jungles of South America in the region of Brazil where she was to observe the behavior of two live xenomorphs and, much to her dismay, interact with them. They almost killed her even when heavily sedated, so she actually only managed to interact for about 10 seconds. Observation: they wanted Cassie dead. Of course that didn't bother her, near death experiences came with her job sometimes, but these things frightened her simply because they were aliens and something she didn't understand.

She watched and observed them for weeks. When not sedated they were vicious, when sedated they were unpredictably vicious. Their life span was also short. The doctors and scientists had injected them early on with steroids to decrease their growth period, but it shortened their lives substantially so she could not say what their exact span of life was. Still she discovered many things about them because of their behavior, and also from the anatomy of the young, that the scientist had bred from laboratory animals, and kept in other parts of the facility. What she could never discover though, was where they came from. The scientists told her nothing, suggesting she just do her job and mind her business, so that is what she did, when they were around at least. Her snooping led only to petty discoveries though, well all but one.

She recalled the day she laid eyes on the odd weaponry very well. She was in a unit she had absolutely no business being in and was pretending to be a spy, when she tripped over the table that they had been sitting on causing one to hit the floor. When it did so, a blast shot out of what appeared to be a cannon of some sort. It wounded her leg deeply and burned like hell fire. When Cassie managed to wipe up her blood with a sleeve and put pressure on the wound long enough to stop it's bleeding, she stood in awe of the rest of the weapons on the table. They were unlike anything she'd ever seen. In real life at least. She picked up a circular disc, and as she squeezed to grip the finger holes, 4 scythe-like blades shot from it. This time not causing her bodily injury, but scared her so much she chunked it across the room. The metallic clang sounded all around and Cassie winced. It had been very loud and sure enough not 2 minutes later she was caught. The sliding doors flew open and Dr. Bill Howard escorted her out. He refused to answer her questions about the sharp scary contraptions, but she eventually learned that they had been brought to this laboratory so that their organic compounds could be tested, and that they were being shipped to weapons facility in eastern Bolivia. Another bit of information, that she would later find to be quite crucial, was that the weaponry was somehow connected to the xenomorphs.

Cassie's stomach gurgled again. She hadn't eaten since noon and she was terribly hungry. She leaned her head backwards sighing, her body too tired to get up and search for food. That is when she spotted a ham sandwich on Fred Morgan's desk, all alone and unattended. She stared at it for a long time. It hadn't been touched, but Fred was nowhere around. Surly this was a figment brought on by hunger, for no one in their right mind would leave a perfectly good sandwich out uneaten would they? A mischievous smile crawled across Cassie's face as her eyes darted to the door to her unit. She kicked off from her desk rolling to Fred's. She turned and greedily picked up the sandwich. Just as she leaned in to get a bite though a crash of paper's slammed upon the desk and the sandwich was taken from her hands. She looked to the mysterious messenger of misery and it was Fred. He took a bite out of the sandwich and turned to leave.

"These need to be in by tomorrow morni-well in a few hours." His unemotional tone was left lingering in the room as he left the unit for sleep. Cassie slumped disappointed in her chair staring at the paperwork.

"I guess this means I don't get to eat…" She said, calling pathetically after a now long gone Fred.

The ship slipped through the galaxies, sliding through the sky like a snake, weaving in and out around the stars that stood in its path. Within the hull, a thick miasma coated the floor, wisps dancing about the pillars and walls, covered in hieroglyphics and carvings. Skulls of animals from far reaches of the universe decorate small rooms, which also hold ridged weaponry that sit on platforms, proudly on display in the middle of the chamber. Their wickedly keen blades gleam threateningly, the shine almost laughing at the skulls that no doubt met their end due to the skill of the weapons' handler.

In the center of the trophies a row of human skulls sit silent and smiling on stands. A type of writing made up of dashes, reads beneath them in its mother language: "Pyode Amedha" meaning "Soft Meat". It is the name by which the creatures that control this ship, know Man. They are nothing but prey to them. Their intelligence making them a worthy challenge, but it is not for sport that they come to Earth on this day: November 12th 2012.

A'karak-uendi walked into the room, the atmospheric mist billowing at his feet as he followed another yautja male to the pillars, removing the weapons of their choice. A'karak knew better than to pick first though and took the less impressive arms for himself. He was unblooded and knew his place; the other was his teacher, a much more skilled hunter that had requested that A'karak come with him on this mission. It was an honor he did not deserve, yet gladly accepted. After they were equipped they stepped into the hall, which lead to a deeper chamber. In this room two other yautja stood. One was massive and scarred heavily across his face and body. Even his helmet was scathed with years of battles. He was a warrior, a loner by profession and not one to be messed with. He barked at A'karak as he entered asserting his dominance over him before he even got a good glimpse of the smaller male, but when A'karak went to growl back his mentor backhanded him into a wall.

"Show respect pup!" He growled threateningly. The warrior growled at A'karak as well, but was satisfied with his master's handling of him. Had his mentor not disciplined him the warrior would've had the right to challenge A'karak, no doubt killing him on the spot without mercy. He cared not for the young yautja's life, seeing him only as future competition for females, if he survived his future blooding ceremony that is. Something the warrior obviously doubted possible by the way he eyed him with scorn.

Another yautja, who stared solemn and quiet at Earth through the porthole, had not acknowledged the presence of the hunter and A'karak, mainly because he didn't have too. He was an elder, nearly an ancient, who had sired more than 80 sucklings, and had no obligation to those beneath him.

A'karak and his mentor stepped forward and hit their chests in salute.

"The pods are ready elder!" A'karak admired the way his master stood proudly before the old gray yautja, and he hoped that one day he too would have the cold distance in his eyes and the large dome of a true male and a true hunter.

The elder nodded his head. "Then we will move swiftly. Our mission is well known to us I hope." He looked around and when there was silence he was assured that this was so. "Very well, then it is known that one of our fleet crashed while trying to leave Earth's galaxy, and a cleaner was sent forth to remove the evidence. When he arrived it was discovered that the **_kainde amedha_** held on the ship had escaped. With honor he destroyed many of the creatures, but his last report told us there was a much larger threat than they, threatening our hunting grounds. A xenomorph had been born from the chest of one of our warriors and in doing so created a dangerous mixture. We lost contact with our fellow warrior shortly afterwards. The threat however was destroyed and the threat of a swarm spreading was eliminated. The oomans are believed to be the ones to have done this, for the cleaner's akrei-non (wrist bomb) was never set off. As our brother's signal faded we noticed something amiss though. The tracker on his sivk'va-tai (plasma caster) began to move. The oomans have stolen our technology and this is a why we must return to the water planet. They are a clever species, and if they harness the knowledge of our weapons, The Hunt could be threatened. We must recover them swiftly…the honor code is to be followed, but I shall make exceptions depending on the circumstances. We must get our weapon back at all costs. Each of you has been chosen for a reason. I expect no fail…is that understood?" Each of the males saluted and stood awaiting orders.

"Good…now…let us depart…" Turning, a long cape twirling behind him, they made their way down to the pods. The elder and the hunters grabbed their masks, A'karak's by far the least impressive of the three representing his lower status among them. The warrior already wore his damaged helmet with pride as he stepped into his pod. The others followed suit. A'karak's excitement grew, his blood pumping through his veins. He'd now have the chance to prove himself worthy of one day being a blooded warrior.


	2. Chapter 2: The Aliens

**EDIT: small edit done in this chapter, nothing too major, just goes along with the edit in the last chapter.**

Chapter 2

**The Aliens**

The procession of white coated scientist followed close behind Cassie, jotting odd notes on their clip boards as they passed the glass containers holding dormant xenomorph young, A.K.A "chest busters", or as Cassie liked to call them "tadpoles of doom". She then turned about face and shifted her glasses.

"The xenomorphs appear to have both reptilian and amphibious properties, as well as insect like behavior and attributes. These are the young which erupt from the chest of a host when strong enough to survive without it." This professional Cassie was a put on for the scientists; she did enjoy the respect she received however.

"Dr. Hunter?" A gentleman piped up nervously shifting his glasses.

"Ms. Hunter, if you please, I have yet to maintain a doctrine" She replied, smiling warmly as the man shuffled his feet, obviously embarrassed. "But thank you the promotion Dr. Allan." She said her trademark impish grin taking up a large portion of her face as her hazel-green eyes danced at the poor man's shyness.

"Yes eh heh, um, the xenomorphs…uh what fluids are the young being contained in to keep them dormant." He put on his own professional tone, trying very hard to cover up is earlier embarrassment.

_"Dammit" _Cassie thought to herself, _"why do they always ask questions I don't know the answers to!" _

"I cannot say for sure, that isn't my department I'm afraid, however I know it is opposite of what they inject the creatures with to make them grow faster. Lately though the scientists here in this unit have ceased doing that to measure out the true span of life of the xenomorphs. We will soon meet two of the latest adult xenomorphs who have had a different sort of experimentation performed on them from the ones before, that you saw during your last visit here. But first," Cassie's tone reached a level cheerfulness one would not expect from her after this monolog of scientific jibber jabber, "would any of you like to meet one of the babies?" She smiled as they all stared at her bewildered and unsure of what she meant by that. Cassie's grin only grew at their befuddlement and she actually laughed.

"What no takers? Very well I will show you one then." She walked over to the glass container, the closer she got the more the thing seemed to move. "They are attracted to body heat, they are not completely dormant after all, and will react when something warm gets close to it…and-" Her voice became very concentrated and the other scientists stood in amazement as she removed the electronically sealed lid and poised herself above the tank like a heron, "if you touch them!" With that her hand shot into the goop and she pulled a writhing demon from its depths. She had to hold onto it with both hands and was obviously having trouble keeping it still. The eyeless skin colored little beast bit at her face, but Cassie's concentration never broke and her smile never faded.

"Incredibly powerful even for its small size, it is also VERY quick! I dropped one once and woo boy! I about lost it!" She laughed as the scientists still stared dumbfounded. "Isn't cute it though?" When none of the scientists responded she began walking back over to the container. "I suppose it is cuter when locked in its tank." She dropped it back in quickly shutting the lid just as the alien spawn leapt at her. It immediately began sinking twitching like a dying fish before going into suspended animation once more. Cassie wiped her hands on her lab coat and turned around walking into a different unit.

"Now if you'll follow me, I will show you the unit where the eggs containing the "face huggers" are held. They're nasty little things that look like spiders and basically rape your face if they get a grip on you, planting the undeveloped young, that you just seen, down your throat." Her voice was no longer professional and some of the white coated patrons frowned at her description of something so serious, other snickered to themselves hoping not to get caught by the others and be frowned at too.

The eggs were in similar containers, the goop's make up keeping them from hatching, by keeping the face hugger within dormant. Cassie and her group spent less time here however and moved on into a room that had a platform overlooking an array of glass cages below. In two of them sat two xenomorph adults, their black shiny domes scarred with the testing that had been done upon them.

Cassie didn't like the laboratory environment, had her curiosity not gotten the better of her she would have never taken this job. Seeing even them, aliens that they were, with that kind of damage done to them seemed cruel to her, and saddened her. She approached the edge of the platform and turned to her tour group.

"These lovely fellows are Subjects B and T, or as the people in my unit jokingly call them, Bill and Ted. They are the only ones of their set to survive the experimentation." She looked down at them. They behaved peculiarly from the rest that she'd had the "pleasure" to work with. They watched her as she leaned over, their faces never left her. They seemed to be listening to the people discussing things around them; what's more they seemed to be interested.

A deep clearing of the throat let Cassie know that Dr. Bill Howard had entered the room and she turned from the aliens to face him with indifference. She did not like him very much. He seemed to care more about these aliens than the lives of those around him. In short he was too absorbed in his own ambition to consider people could die in the situations he put them in. Cassie was his favorite test subject in these types of situations.

"Ms. Hunter, you're just in time." He said smiling at her through his mustache. Cassie hated that mustache…she wanted to rip it off his face and shove it down his smug throat at times.

"I'm in the middle of a tour Dr. Howard." Cassie said sighing, knowing exactly what she was "just in time" for.

"Excellent! They will get to see how you interact with the xenomorphs then!" He practically beamed and Cassie had an urge to push him off the platform. Cassie covered up those particular feelings at the moment though, with a fake smile.

"First wouldn't you like to explain to the group about the advances you've made with the xenomorphs Dr. Howard?" Cassie suggested sweetly, emphasizing the "you've made" part to pump up his ego so that maybe he'd get so lost in explanation he'd forget about sending Cassie to her death today.

"Ah yes of course Ms. Hunter, of course." He strolled in front of her group all but elbowing her out of the way and smiled at them with his ridiculously white teeth. "The xenomorphs in this unit have had undergone many surgical procedures to their cranial area to inhibit their aggression. Much like a lobotomy in fact. These specimens are thus less aggressive and show more brain function in other areas. We have already determined that these aliens are intelligent, but in an animal-like way. These however seem to have the mind capacity of a human being, but have yet learned to harness that intelligence."

The scientists nodded their approval and understanding, Cassie rolled her eyes. He was just such an arrogant bastard it sickened her. One standing close to her raised his hand.

"Yes, Dr. Freeman?"

"I remember you mentioning the high acidity of the xenomorphs blood the last time we were here. I was just wondering if a solvent of some sort had been made to neutralize it so that you could perform these experiments."

"Ah good question Dr. Freeman, no, we have yet to discover a base that will neutralize the acidity of their blood. We instead used the exoskeleton of the creatures to create special linings for our medical equipment so that we could perform the earlier stated lobotomy." He smiled to Cassie and she smiled back with as much sincerity as she could muster. "It was our Ms. Hunter here that suggested the idea. A clever young thing isn't she." Cassie smiled to the group as the scientists praised her. She was inwardly boiling though. He showed her no respect. "Clever young thing"? What the hell was she, a child?

"Now Ms. Hunter, if you will be so kind to show the good doctors here you're special skill with the creatures?" Dr. Howard said as he came and placed a hand on Cassie's ridged shoulder.

"Very well, I will go prepare." She smiled at her group; becoming a bit more excited knowing she'd have an audience, but hating Dr. Howard more with every step she took down to the lower level.

After the long tedious task of dressing in the body suit she wore when in with a xenomorph Cassie made her way to the containment area. She approached the glass cage, cooing and clicking to Subject B as she did to the big cats when she worked in a zoo years ago. He cocked his head and hissed backing up. This wasn't the first time Cassie had gone in with B, and he seemed calmer with each visit. It was promising and Cassie was developing a fondness for them both. T however was more unpredictable, but he was also easily distracted, so it was not hard getting away from him if he decided to have a crazy alien mood swing. Cassie believed they gave the poor thing A.D.H.D when they drilled into his head.

The door to the cell hissed as it slid open. Cassie watched B intently never ceasing talking to him.

"Hey Billy B…you doing ok? Huh? You been a good boy?" B watched her just as intently, but had stopped his hissing and instead looked at her with his head cocked. "Ah, there is my good boy." She smiled under the protective mask. In all truths she didn't know if B was a male or female, they had yet to learn how to tell the difference, but she liked to think of him as a boy.

B hissed and stepped towards her tentatively.

"Cassie!" The intercom sounded causing B's head to turn. "Be careful in there!"

"I got this." Cassie said sighing, annoyed, knowing that any sudden sound or movement could set B off. "Don't worry about me."

Her attention returned to B and she took a piece of meat from her pocket and tossed it to the ground. B strolled over to it seemed to smell it and nudged it with his head back towards her.

"Oh you don't want it?" She said laughingly. "Well I'll just have to find you something else to eat." She slowly moved towards him and he did not back away. He watched her every step with his eyeless face. When she got within reaching distance she slowly extended her hand to his head. Her heart pounded as she made contact. Her hand was immediately covered in the slimy substance that coated the creature's body, but she was too ecstatic about the allowed contact to care. But then, she made a mistake. She touched a fresh scar on B's dome and he hissed viciously at her and she jumped back just as a bladed tail pierced the ground.

"Cassie get out of there!" the intercom shouted, but it was an unnecessary suggestion, for she was already scrambling to the door. She ran through it and shut it just as B took a flying leap at her, and smashed into it, hissing and growling angrily on the other side.

Cassie slid down the wall heart pounding like it was about to explode, breathing like she'd just ran a marathon. The other scientists rushed down to her including Dr. Fred Morgan, who worked in both her unit and this one.

"Oh my God Cassie! That was the most idiotic thing you've done yet!" He barked at her as he hauled her to her feet.

"No no, I'm fine really…" Cassie said frowning as other scientists arrived to look her over and check to see if the door was secure. Her excitement about touching the xenomorph had faded into anger. The thing was in pain!

"Ah! Ms. Hunter! I can't believe you managed to touch the creature!" Shouted Dr. Howard excitedly as she and Dr. Morgan rose up to the upper level. "The thing is still very unpredictable though; I may need to put him under the knife again to see if we can fix that."

"Or here's an idea! Why don't you just cut his head off! Surly that will make him calmer." Cassie snapped sarcastically as she removed her suit.

"Ms. Hunter you wouldn't understand the necessity of this type of experimn-" Dr. Howard began but Cassie cut him off.

"Oh I understand it perfectly well thank you! I understand that it isn't necessary at all!" She glared at him, her eyes becoming pools of poison. "These things are not chemicals to be placed in beakers and combined with other substances to observe the effects. They're lifeforms! Living beings with thoughts and possibly emotions. You cutting into the poor things and injecting them with shit is not going to change their nature!"

"Ms. Hunter please-"

"No! I'm not going to stand for it! I did not sign up for this job to watch a living creature suffer! When the predator becomes prey to cruelty that is where I draw the line."

"Ms. Hunter you must understand, we need you on this assignment." Dr. Howard began coaxingly, obviously taken aback by Cassie's sudden outburst.

"No! Don't your even try to reason with me you pompous asshole! This is the tenth time I've almost gotten killed by these things! I'm not going to do it again. You might as well throw me into a tank of sharks with meat strapped to me." Cassie threw the suit off and stormed out. The good doctor followed though.

"So you are saying you don't wish to be apart of this project anymore?" He said taking on a serious tone. Cassie wheeled on him.

"Yes, I think that is exactly what I'm saying. Find another behaviorist, a suicidal one would best suit you I think…I'll be gone in a week. I'll finish up my reports before I go, not that you deserve even that little bit of effort from me after all that you've put me through." She opened the door to her unit, slamming her hand against the scanner several times before it worked.

Dr. Howard stood dumbfounded and unable to say anything as the door closed shut in his face.

_"Casssssie…" _The name came in a hiss from behind him startling Dr. Howard, but when he turned all the scientists were busy at their stations and only Subject B sat down in his cage looking up at him with his expressionless face.


	3. Chapter 3: Betrayal and Blood

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Betrayal, Blood, and the Command**

Cassie knew she said she would stick around for another week, but she packed her bags anyway, needing to do SOMETHING to distract from her anger so that she could cool off. Throwing her cloths into the open suit case, basically mashing them into every crevice viciously, it wasn't really helping, and when her hand hit the edge of something hard, she screamed at the bag that it "would burn in the fires of hell" as she did an ow-fuck-that-hurt dance all around the room. Searching through the tangle of clothes she found the offending sharp edged item, but before she could throw it across the room she realized it was a picture frame. She sat on her bunk looking at it, instantly calmed by the sight. It was a picture of her with her family, which she took before she left on her first trip out of the U.S. She smiled embraced by the nostalgia, just as a familiar lonely feeling crawled up her stomach into her heart. How long had it been since her father died? How long had it been since she even spoke to her family? Did they miss her? Did they even still love her after all the stress she put them through? She chuckled to herself knowing all the answers to her questions.

Sitting the picture back on her bed stand she laid her head on her pillow just as tears jumped to her eyes unexpectedly. Reflecting over the life she'd been living over the past few years made her long to see her family again, to be embraced by them, and to tell them she was sorry for getting caught up in her own world, and forgetting they were apart of it. She felt like a selfish child, in a world where the only ones who cared about her, were the ones she ignored. She didn't really have any permanent friends, boyfriends came and went, and she moved so much she didn't even know where her home was anymore, unless she could come to accept her little apartment in Oregon as such.

A gentle knock came to her door and she sat up, wiping her eyes hurriedly.

"Yes?" she said bristling at the thought that it might be Dr. Howard, but another more likable voice came instead.

"Hey Prey? Can I come in?" It was Dr. Fred Morgan. He and she worked together so much that it was hard for them not to become friends. He even called her the nickname she earned in Africa on her expedition through the savannas. The locals had found it funny that her last name was Hunter, when she acted more like prey, so they called her Windo which was Swahili for just that. When Fred saw how much she put herself in danger he saw why and began to call her it in English form.

"Yeah sure" Cassie replied hoping he couldn't tell she had been crying. She felt like such a child.

Fred opened the door and smiled at her. "So me and the entire lower unit heard that you were leaving." He chuckled slightly at his little joke. "I really hate to hear it kiddo." Coming to sit by her his voice took on a more somber tone. "Working here just won't be the same without you bothering me all day long with unneeded chit chat." He smiled and Cassie smiled too.

"Well you'll get more work done at least." She replied, her voice shaking slightly, an unwanted after effect of the earlier tears.

"I'm not so sure; you got me through the boring paper work a lot faster I do believe." Cassie smiled again and then there was a long silence between them. Fred stood and ruffled her brown hair making her purse her lips in mock anger as she smoothed it out. "You're doing the right thing, keep that good head on you're shoulders and you'll go far." He turned to leave when Cassie's soft voice made him pause.

"My father used to say that to me." She stared at the floor, making invisible circles with her foot. "He used to say that because I was stubborn I would never earn fame and glory because I was too hard headed about doing what is right instead of furthering myself. He was always proud of me for that." She rolled her eyes playfully and smiled sadly at Fred.

"Your father was a very smart man then. He raised a beautiful, smart, and courageous daughter, who is crazier than sin." He chuckled gently. "I hope I do half as well raising my daughter." Cassie looked up at him deeply touched by these words and almost felt the tears coming again.

"That reminds me, tell little Cadence I said Happy Birthday…I'll have to give you a gift for her before I leave."

"I will," He looked at her returning her warm smile. "I will."

Cassie needed to clear her head. Too much drama in too little amount of time was making her mind ache. She walked down the dark corridors her steps echoing about the eerily quiet laboratory. The odd luminescence of the chest buster's containers was the only light that shown in the rooms, as she passed on her way down to the lower unit. She didn't know why, but for some reason she felt she needed to say good bye to B and T.

The area where they were contained had an eerie glow about it too, the little lights from computers were all that allowed her to see her black, slimy friends below. She descended the stairwell to the lower level so she could give her final farewells to their empty faces. They watched her intently as she passed them. First she went to T's cell, he hissed and waved his tail threateningly, but when she put her hand to the glass he became overcome with curiosity and danced about his cell, unsure if he should get too close. He settled by knocking his massive dome against the glass hurting himself. Cassie laughed as he thrashed about in his cell. She knew the only reason he was in pain was because of the cruel experimentation, but he acted so over dramatic about the whole thing she couldn't help it. She moved over to B's cell after T was done throwing his fit and placed her hand on his cell as well. B remained stoic, tail twitching, and his mouth, which to Cassie always appeared human, seeming to smile at her.

"Well it looks like this is the end of the road for us guys…you won't get a chance to kill me again unfortunately." She chuckled as B came forward trying to smell her through the glass. Suddenly his head shot up though and Cassie's eyes nervously followed its direction. Voices mumbled above her and she pressed her self to a wall in front of the cages so if someone looked down she could not be seen. She strained her ears trying to catch what the people were saying, but they soon moved close enough to where their voices were audible.

"So Ms. Hunter has decided to no longer be apart of this project?" One voice asked and Cassie recognized it as Dr. Peter Johnson, head of this entire facility. She had only met him three times but it wasn't hard to recognize his deep, empty voice.

"Yes Dr. Johnson, she refuses to aid in the behavioral observations any longer." The voice now speaking was that of Dr. Howard. Cassie ears remained locked on the conversation. Why were they discussing her quitting, so late at night?

"How much does she know?" Dr. Johnson asked after a long thoughtful pause.

"Sir?" Dr. Howard sounded confused. Of course Cassie knew about everything because she worked along with his team.

"You imbecile!" Dr. Johnson snapped his voice a low growl. "Does she know about the hosts used to procure our recent subjects?"

"Oh, no sir, she is unaware that human hosts were used. The process was done in an area she has no access to."

Cassie's eyes widened. They were using humans as hosts! How could they? Obviously they weren't supposed to, so how the hell could they do something like that! How could anyone use another human being as a lab animal? Then is suddenly hit her. That was why B and T appeared more human! She had witnessed the birth of many other chest busters from hosts, such as chimps and other large laboratory animals. She had been the one who observed the similarities the aliens shared with the hosts when they reached maturity. It was all coming together now. They used human hosts so the aliens would be more intelligent! Then cut into their cerebrum to inhibit aggression. She turned looking at B and T listening to the doctor's conversation just as she was. They were as intelligent as human beings, but ten times more dangerous!

The voices caught her attention again after the doctors had another long pause.

"She still knows too much. We can't have her leaking information to the outside." Dr. Johnson had a dark undertone and it began to frighten Cassie.

"What do you suggest sir?"

"Have her eliminated…" Cassie's heart stopped. "Perhaps you could use her as one of your hosts."

"Sir that would be unethical!" Dr. Howard exclaimed, Cassie slightly glad at how flabbergasted he sounded about the suggestion.

"Shoot her then. I don't want her to leave this place with the information she holds, still intact."

Cassie's heart pounded in her throat, beads of sweat beginning to appear on her face. They were either going to use her like a lab rat or kill her! Either option she wasn't too fond of. Her body shook wanting desperately to run, but she knew in her mind she must stay put until they left, then she didn't care if she had to run blindly into the jungle that surrounded the laboratory, she would fare better out there than in this fucked up work environment.

B and T began to hiss though and cold chills crawled up her spine as they turned their heads. She felt a presence standing behind her and when she whirled around she was thrown against a wall by a scientist she recognized as one of Dr. Johnson's. She reacted quickly though planting a swift kick between his legs and breaking his nose with the palm of her hand. As he fell to his knees in pain she fled up the stairs only to be grabbed by another man. This one was a militia guard, and he was much stronger than her. Still she managed to elbow him in his gut before he threw her to the ground holding her their like an escaped convict.

"Well Ms. Hunter, how nice of you to join us." The white haired Dr. Johnson actually smiled at her as she thrashed about on the floor."

"You fucking son of a bitch! I'll kill you! Let me go!" Cassie wasn't easy to hold, it took both of the guard's arms and his body weight to keep her pinned to the floor.

"Now, now young lady, mind your tongue in front of your elders." He clicked his tongue at her and Cassie's insides were on fire. If she got hold of him she'd latch on to him and make him beg for death!

"What should we do with her sir?" Dr. Howard piped up from behind him.

"We'll take her to the upper unit where the incinerator is. That way we can get rid of her body quickly."

Cassie went to scream but her mouth was covered by the guard. She managed to wriggle her head enough to where she could open her mouth though, and bit a chunk out of the offending hand, metallic blood filling her mouth. The man yelled and reared back his other hand, now a fist, cracking her in the temple.

Everything went blurry and then black, the last thing Cassie saw was B and T looking up at her with their smiling faces and human intelligence.

A'karak stood with the others, watching the building in cloaked silence. There were armed humans in and out of it, guarding each area from what he could tell. A titillating challenge for the young unblooded hunter, one that made him chitter with excitement. His mentor clicked sharply to him from behind, and he rattled his understanding. His teacher basically telling him _"Keep still and observe, you will be called when needed." _It annoyed him that he must stay behind during the initial assault, but he knew better than to argue.

Slowly like shadows the other three slipped from the tree tops and moved down to the ground, sliding like ghosts towards the unsuspecting humans below. A'karak's excitement built as the long pause before the hunter strikes the prey, began to grow. Then the attack was made.

Bursts of heat poured from the humans spraying to the ground and cooling once it settled. His brethren sliced through the confused creatures that scurried about firing their guns into nothingness just before they were cut down.

Then a high pitched sound filled the air that made A'karak's ears hurt. He soon realized it was an alarm of some sort, for inside the building he could see the humans rushing to the outside.

His mentor let up his own screech to A'karak and he knew it was time. He moved in, ready to get his first taste of human blood. With his natural predatory stealth he soon found himself beside his comrades, meeting wave after wave of armed humans. He fired his plasma caster at the first, blowing his head from his shoulders, but found that too easy. Unsheathing his wrist blades he dug them into the fist human neck he could reach. The male's body thrashed about on the end of them as he became uncloaked. He chattered his amusement at how easy it was to kill these things, just as a riddle of bullets sent him backwards. He jumped back furious, but his teacher had already taken care of his assailant and grabbed him by the mask growling at him.

"Don't get cocky pup!" He released him pushing him back. That had been the last of the guards, but the whine of the alarm sent others out who upon seeing their presence became horrified and began to run.

"Do not let them escape!" The elder barked. "They will alert more armed soft meats! We have no time for delays." He growled knowingly, and the warrior and hunter grabbed their shurikens, cutting down each that tried to escape. A'karak followed the elder inside, readying himself for more worthy prey, which he hoped to find.

Cassie awoke in the incinerator room with a massive head ache. She looked about to see the others discussing her fate.

"Just shoot her in the temple; it'll be quick and painless, so stop worrying Dr. Howard." Dr. Johnson said smiling as he handed the gun to him.

"I-I can't shoot her! I've never fired a gun in my life!" He exclaimed holding the gun out like it were the emboli virus. Dr. Johnson sighed angrily snatching it back from him.

"You are completely useless!" He shouted striding over to Cassie who was still being held up by the military officer. She felt the cold steal touch her temple and she sadly thought about her life. It had been a good run. It was a shame it had to come to an end so soon. Then out of no where the sirens went off and Cassie knew there was a God. Dr. Johnson jumped back looking around like someone in the room had made the alarms go off.

"What the hell is going on!" He yelled at the man holding Cassie.

"I don't know sir! Shall I go check it out?"

"Well someone better damn well!" He growled and Cassie was dropped like a rag doll to the floor. When the officer left though the door flew open behind him and he was thrown right back in, blood splattering around the room as he landed limply on the floor. Cassie stared at the corpse, which now stared back at her blankly, and exclaimed drawing up on her knees to try and flee. When she did though she heard the click of a gun, and turned to face Dr. Johnson with fury, but saw that he wasn't pointing it at her. Standing in the doorway was the most massive man she'd ever seen. A closer inspection though had her doubting its humanity. Its skin was mottled with speckles and stripes and had a reddish tint to it. It was almost reptilian. She slid out of its way as it strode over to Dr. Johnson who stood stock still, unable to move from fear. The creature made a rattling noise cocking its head at him before running its wrist blades through his stomach, slinging him towards the door. Cassie then realized that she recognized that weapon. She quivered in fear, but the creature didn't seem to notice her and instead focused on Dr. Howard. It moved towards him, three red dots in the shape of a triangle gleaming on his forehead.

"Please-please don't ki-" were the last words her uttered as a blast escaped a mounted canon on the creature's shoulder completely obliterating the side of Dr. Howard's face. His gruesome cadaver slid down the wall leaving a bloody trail behind as it slumped over.

Cassie whimpered and looked for an escape route, but the noise she made caught the thing's attention and it turned towards her, now extending a spear like apparatus. She looked up at him, fear dancing in her orbs like fire as he edged closer to her. She wanted to try and reason with it but she was beyond words.

Then suddenly – Bang! A gunshot was fired, and then 2 more in rapid succession. The creature wheeled, screeching in pain revealing its assailant to be Fred.

"Cassie run!" He shouted to her just as he was grabbed by the throat. The creature roared throwing him into a wall with a sickening crack. His body became flaccid but his eyes still reflected his fear. Without hesitation the creature ran him through with the spear and Cassie cried out in terror and anguish as she watched her friend's life fade away. With a rip he freed his weapon and, much to her despair, again turned his attention to her. She looked around desperately. He blocked the door! She searched for Fred's gun and dove for it when she finally spotted it, avoiding a spear through her chest as the creature lunged at her. She turned on the creature ready to fire, but paused. The bullets had only hurt him before and now she had a clear shot for the doorway. Weighing her options she decided to run.

Dead bodies decorated all the corridors urging her to move even faster as fear induced adrenaline filled her body. She could feel the creature behind her, even if she couldn't see it and she rushed into the jungles of Brazil with all the speed she could convey. The terrain slowed her though and before she knew it her foot struck a root and sent her flying into a swamp. When she came up through the murky waters she noticed she had lost her gun and searched the depths for it. It was no use, she was now unarmed and defenseless. She looked around the waist deep water trying to get her bearings, when the creeping feeling of another presence returned to her. She rose up slowly and turned just as an unnaturally strong hand grabbed her throat and slung her painfully against a rock. She tried to escape it, but though her body writhed about in protest her head and neck were kept securely still. She could feel its grip tighten as the creature seemed to look her over. He was going to break her neck.

A'karak looked at this human rattling curiously. It was a female, but what interested him was how similar this little human's body was to their females. He looked at her face chittering. She was an ugly thing, no mandibles, small blunt teeth, and the protruding scent collector sticking out of her face made her look like some annoying blood sucking insect. No matter, this was no time to be inquisitive; he readied himself to snap her neck, when a bark made him turn.

"Release the ooman!" It was the elder; he stopped short of the swamp staring at him from the bank.

"But you said to destroy all the oomans elder!" A'karak said without thinking.

"You dare question me you unworthy piece of _**c'jit**_!" The elder was furious with him for forgetting his place and A'karak quickly lowered his head in submission.

"No elder! Forgive me." He dropped the human, who took a long breath of air as A'karak was knocked out of the way by the elder and then shoved into the water by the warrior as he passed.

The elder reached down bringing the female to her feet, grabbing her roughly by the arm so she couldn't run. The fear that escaped her in the form of pheromones made A'karak dizzy with a want to give chase to her once more, but a bark from the older hunter sent him back further from the group.

Cassie stared at this new creature, there were four now, and that was way too many for her liking. This one had kept the other smaller one from killing her though so even though her heart still raced, she steadied her mind, trying to anticipate the gray dreaded creature's next move. It barked at her and she jumped in response. It began to rattle looking about as if trying to think of something, then suddenly it pointed to the canon-like contraption that sat on his shoulder.

"_Wheeeere?" _he hissed out and Cassie was surprised at its use of English. She looked about trying to think, and then realized what it was asking. But she didn't realize quick enough, for the creature tightened his grip on her and growled. "_Wheeere!" _Once more.

"I-It's in Bolivia! It isn't here anymore! They moved it!" She cried out, pain shooting from her arm and setting her nerves on fire.

"Bolivia_ wheeere?_" Cassie was taken aback at hearing her own voice within the monster's question that she once again was silent for too long. The elder got uncomfortably close to her face, though Cassie was having a hard time finding anything comfortable about this situation. She regarded what he had been asked. Of course he wouldn't know where Bolivia was. He was obviously not from around here. She turned her head looking. It was getting dark and the sun was setting, she gathered her bearings by that and turned her head the opposite way and nodded.

"That way…west." She looked at him as he turned to where she indicated, unsure of what he was going to do to her. Her thoughts were soon answered though as he hauled her to the shore and barked at her again.

"_Ssshooow us!_" She looked at all the creatures surrounding her and looked towards. They wanted her to take them to the weapons! Surly they didn't expect her to walk all the way to Bolivia with them!? She turned to the one who had spoken to her, looking at him (for she assumed it was a male by its body structure) questioningly. He barked at her making her jump again.

"Move it bitch!" Another human voice shouted as he growled threateningly.

It would appear that was EXACTLY what they expected of her. With a whimpering sigh she began her long trek, having no place to argue.


	4. Chapter 4: Cassie's Enemy

**Sorry for the wait guys!**

Chapter 4

**Cassie's Enemy, A'karak's Victim**

The canopy shaded the forest floor below, but that did not spare Cassie from suffering the heat. The trees closed around her suffocating her breath, which took in unseen moisture straight to her lungs, choking her with every step. It was in short; hot, sticky, and miserable. Sweat poured from her skin, fusing with the wetness of the rainforest, attracting bugs and dirt to settle uncomfortably upon her damp flesh.

600 miles, that is what these creatures wanted her to walk, damn near 600 miles! She'd never make it! Cassie was in shape from her years of working with animals and her short time in Africa, but this…this was crazy!…she had never trekked this far on foot before.

Her throat was not dry, but her body ached for some form of drink. The threat of dehydration loomed over her with every drop of sweat lost. She panted heavily her body tired and her legs on the brink of failing her. It had only been 1 day. 1 long and miserable day, but she hadn't had a drink since early the day before, and she had begun this journey late that night. Now midday of the next, she was desperate for a rest. Yet these...things, these…aliens…never seemed to let up, they kept walking strong, unfazed by the unbearable heat, even though they were armored. The wore pewter colored masks, and ridged breastplates or shoulder coverings, yet they strolled about as if it were Spring time in Italy…a place she'd never been to, which made her wonder why she used this as a mental reference. Was it even nice in Italy during the Spring? If she survived this she'd have to find out. Still regardless! It was ridiculous. Though she suspected their loin clothes and sporty metal bikini style coverings allowed at least a nice breeze from time to time, which was more than she could say for herself in her lab coat, and jeans.

Looking around, Cassie tried to find something to take her mind off the exhaustion she felt. It was hard to pay attention to anything else though, well…except for her captors. She had been observing these creatures a good while, seeing as it was the only thing she COULD do in this particular situation, and her worry grew with each hour. They were massive, quite capable of snapping her in two, they had weapons that she had seen first hand, and she watched the one behind her murder her friend, so to say she was scared would have been an understatement. Still they seemed to have no intent of killing her. HARMING her was another story though, and Cassie wanted to avoid that if she could.

She looked up ahead and spotted whom she assumed the leader of the group was. He had gray dread-lock looking tentacles that dangled from his large head, and underneath his mesh covering; his mottled red and brown reptilian-like skin set him apart from the others. His mask had many more marks on it as well, some of it being, what appeared to be at least, lettering or runes of some sort. He was an impressive figure no doubt, but he was not near as impressive as the one who walked just behind him.

This one had to be pushing 8 feet tall, and weighed God knows how much. His muscles bulged under his mesh and he wore very little armor. Cassie took it as a sign of confidence, or perhaps he was just too big for armor. Either way this big guy was not one to be toyed with. His body was so scarred it was hard to even tell what his skin pattering looked like. He, like the leader, ignored her for the most part though, and she was glad of that, but it did not keep her from sensing the dislike he felt at having her so close behind him.

Backing Cassie was the one who almost killed her, which did not help her nerves. This one was probably the smallest of the group, but that did not mean he was small by any means. He stood a good 7 feet tall, making her barely 5'6 height diminutive, and did not mind lording over her with his bulk, barking at her constantly to speed up. Despite her deep dislike for him though, she could not help but to notice that his skin pattern was much more distinct than the others. His skin was tawny; reddish in certain spots, and his skin was patterned with deep brown stripes that were surrounded by speckles of the same color.

When he caught her staring at him he barked his annoyance, as he tended to do, and she quickly turned around grumbling to herself.

The last alien was not around all the time. He came and went, and she figured he was scouting out the path they were on. He was similar to the smaller male, with tawny skin, but his body was dappled and without stripes. He seemed to regard her from time to time and would make guttural noises to the smaller male when he did so. She supposed they were talking about her. That was fine by Cassie, as long as they weren't discussing methods in which to kill her. It did however peak her curiosity and made her desperately want to know what they were saying.

Cassie inhaled heavily, trying to get more air to her lungs, but the air was just so damn stifling, it was hard to catch her breath. Her human body suffered without the needed oxygen and soon that human weakness broke the surface.

Her pace slowed to a near crawl, which earned her a bark from the smaller male as he nearly bumped into her, but she could go no further. She was too drained. Cassie leaned against a tree shutting her eyes sucking in the air she thirsted for, but this was not a good move on her part. The one behind her came and forcefully pushed her forward, but due to her weakened state this only succeeded in sending her sprawling to the earth. Mouth now full of dirt and decaying leaves she spat and coughed up the dirt she just inhaled.

"You know…pushing me down isn't going to make me go any faster!" She snapped, but it came so feebly that it almost sounded casual. Back talking was not a good move either though, she soon learned, for the creature lumbered over, growling viciously as he bent down, grabbed her by the shirt, and hoisted her to her feet with one quick movement. Cassie's eyes narrowed, staring into the glassy ones of his mask. She then proceeded to make her third and worst bad move. She growled back at him, mocking his, and this earned her a powerful almost jaw breaking smack across the face that sent her flying back to the earth once more. This time her mouth remained shut…because he had knocked her out.

Damn ooman! She was an unneeded nuisance! She was slowing them down, and her obstinate nature infuriated him. She was PREY! And she would pay for growling at him. He walked over to her, kicking her hard in the side flipping her weak human body onto the back, but when he did this he realized she was unconscious, and that he had made a terrible error.

A roar made him turn as the elder came towards him chattering angrily. "What in the name of the gods has halted us?"

A'karak backed up lowering his head. "The ooman, she fainted elder!" He knew it was a lie before it escaped him, but he said it without thinking. The elder roared and A'karak could hear his mandibles click the inside of the mask as they flared in fury.

"You damn _**jehdin**_! How dare you lie to me! You, a suckling fresh off your mother's tit!" He strode towards him grabbing him by the throat. "You slow us down again I'll adorn my armor with your worthless skull! Now!" He barked, "You are to be in charge of the ooman! If she slows us down it is your hide I'll be stripping from YOUR useless flesh!" He released him growling. "Oomans are weak, you will carry the female when it is unable to walk, and!" He began growling with amusement. "You will keep it alive, hunting for it as if it were your own pup…just like the _**lou-bte kalei**_ you are…" The elder's growl returned to its original threatening volume when A'karak growled at his insult. "If it dies before we find the location of our stolen technology…I'll kill you." He turned his back on A'karak, ceremoniously showing him that he was not worth his time. This deeply affronted A'karak, but he could do nothing but hang his head or lose it.

The massive warrior wasted no time taking advantage of his cut-down state and walked towards him snorting in his face, daring A'karak to retort as he growled with amusement. A'karak desperately wanted to tackle this behemoth and rip his ugly face out from under his helmet.

The warrior circled him, goading him with a challenging tenseness before moving on, turning his back on him as well and laughing at him in their manner. A'karak was furious and snarled to himself, turning with intended aggression upon the comatose ooman. He could not even take out his frustrations out on it now though, so instead he calmed himself with great effort, and hefted her light body up throwing her roughly over his shoulder.

She was very light actually, it was like carrying a she-pup on his shoulder, but of course this ooman did not have the attractive muscularity of even a young female. Sure she did have firmness to the skin that suggested that muscles rested beneath the squishiness, but she was such a weak creature. One hit had defeated her…and he hadn't even hit her with his full strength!

A'karak chattered irritably as he shifted his load more comfortably on his shoulder. Oomans were such weak beings, why did his people covet to take their skulls as trophies so greatly? They were nothing but a _**soft meat**_**, **irrational, and uncoordinated bunch of _**zabins**_! He touched the bullet wounds he had received during their first attack on the ooman dwelling, which were now nothing more than scratches. Even their weaponry was weak and unworthy, especially in comparison to the yautja kind. Still his _**kv'var-de**_master insisted that their worthiness was due to their cunning and intelligence. True A'karak had noticed how big the oomans' skulls were, but he had yet to see said intelligence in any form…other than the ones who tried to run away. But even they didn't prove to be worthy of pursuing and were merely cut down. Under normal circumstances killing such cowards would have been a deep abrasion to the honor code. But this wasn't a hunt. Different rules applied to this situation.

He turned his great head to look at the little ooman draped over his shoulder. He growled deeply, his annoyance growing with every step. He did not care how worthy Daturi said they are; he'd rather be hunting _**kainde amedha **_than killing a bunch of oomans_._

Darkness emulated the black shining domes of B and T as they paced in unison around their containment cell. A series of clicks and hisses erupted from B and echoed about the room. T halted. He stood stock still and at the same time as B lunged for his door. It jarred opening slightly but not enough for escape. Again. They leapt in harmony slamming into the door with loud thuds. This time…success. They stalked from their cages like wild cats, slinking through the blood stained halls, looking curiously at the dead bodies. Then, as if understanding this to be the reason they were able to escape, they began to play with the corpses, pushing them about with their heads. They were actually amused and were rejoicing, like a prisoner held unjustly would gloat upon the masters that held them in containment, when freed.

Then suddenly B stopped as if with epiphany. He hissed a long and eerie note that floated down the deathly quiet walls. T hisses back and chirps bouncing around as if in excitement. B hisses sharply and bites at him with his inner mouth though, causing him to step back.

B returns to his thoughts and begins trekking through the hallways, smelling and searching. T, ecstatic about his freedom bounds after him, chasing invisible creatures from time to time. No doubt an effect from his cerebral operations.

B arrests his steps very suddenly though and T runs into him; B slams him into a wall with his tail in response. This causes T to thrash about dramatically before running at B and hissing his annoyance with him. B ignores though. They are in the egg room, and within the glass containers their brothers and sisters rest, and just as peacefully within the eggs, the latchers float in suspended animation, waiting for the time that they may deliver their load into a host and die.

B steps forward T close behind, their heavy footsteps ricocheting around the small room. B stops before one of the glass containers holding an egg, his lip quivering in excitement. Then without warning his tail flies into the containers behind him, holding his undeveloped siblings, their limp tadpole like bodies instantly coming to life on the floor. Then with the thoughtful care of a human mother, he picks up the glass container holding an egg within. T follows suit in imitation. It was time for the hive to move.

The sun had nearly set when Daturi came through the tree tops and landed among his fellows.

"We may rest here without disturbance elder." He said, instantly striking his chest and kneeling.

"Very well, then here is where we shall rest." The elder stabbed his spear in the ground, which he always carried with him in full extension, and looked at how the heat from the sun hit it before lifting it from the earth and placing it on his belt. The elder wasn't exactly a pup anymore and A'karak wondered if this mission was beginning to wear on him, for he climbed into the tree with greater effort than the others (who only followed, after the elder was in the tree), and he seemed very relieved to have rest. A'karak himself was ashamed at how drained he felt though. He, the youngest member of the group! He looked at the ooman whom he promptly dropped to the ground. Surly carrying this little 130…140 ooman had not worn him down so much! It simply couldn't be possible; he trained for 2 months before coming to this planet (which was significantly more than the months on this planet).

He approached the female laying lifeless in the dirt thinking to himself; "if she doesn't get up soon I'm dragging her the rest of the way." Just as he thought that though Cassie began to stir, as if she had heard what his mind had said.

"Good" A'karak rattled inwardly. "Now I don't have to mess with it." He turned away from her barely conscious form and made his way towards the tree the others rested in. He was reprimanded with a bark from Daturi though and his mentor began climbing down towards him. Apparently the elder had informed him of A'karak's "misconduct"…and his punishment.

A'karak respectfully leapt back down from the tree, but that was not enough for Daturi. He slammed A'karak into the tree once he was on the ground, and growled at him, grabbing him by the face mask.

"You will rest on the ground with the ooman! I swear by the god Paya! Has your fertilizing sac even dropped yet!? You are slowing down our mission! You have disgraced your honor and the clan's with your rashness!" Daturi was not usually easily angered; capable of keeping his cool in the direst of circumstances, and A'karak was used to this sort of punishment from others, but when his _**kv'var-de**_ master grew angry A'karak would have rather faced an entire horde of displeased females than him. His words cut and shamed him.

"How have I disgraced my honor?" A'karak growled, angry at his own shame. Daturi seemed to know this and did not put him in his place for growling at him.

"You never harm those who aid you, whether they be brethren or prey! It goes against the honor code! Not that you would know…you never show up for training sessions." He released him now sounding more annoyed than angry. A'karak was relieved by this.

"Forgive me for shaming the clan _**kv'var-de **_master…"A'karak fell to one knee to show his compliance and his respect for the code. Daturi chattered his regard and A'karak stood. He then walked over to the ooman and looked down at her. A'karak chittered, cocking his head with curiosity as Daturi grabbed her face, as if to examine her skull.

"You need to fetch water for the ooman she is dying of thirst…that is why she is so weak." He handed A'karak something of the canteen variety and walked off, but paused turning swiftly, throwing his spear into the earth in front of A'karak making him clacker in surprise. Daturi growled a laugh. "Practice your hunting techniques while you're caring for your ooman, by getting us some food as well."

A'karak growled wrenching the spear from the ground with unneeded force "his ooman!?" He turned snorting his disgust, then lumbered off into the jungle making a lot of racket with his ranting, apparently not acknowledging his orders to hunt for the group as he made all manner of beast scatter before him with his noise.

After climbing through the canopy awhile A'karak caught the scent of water and leapt down continuing on foot. He soon found a small waterfall and filled the canteen, but drank it himself greedily. It had a slight different texture to it, but it was defiantly water.

He rumbled with irritation as he filled it again. Why the hell did this ooman have to be HIS problem! It infuriated him to be treated with such inferiority. Besides that, he knew nothing about oomans! They were prey; he knew their weapons, and their fighting methods. He knew how to skin them and harvest their skulls. All that he had learned in training, but he had no idea how to keep one alive. Come to think of it he didn't even know what oomans ate. He placed the canteen on his belt and withdrew his dagger suddenly as he heard a rustling noise. He crouched low by the water, listening close for the sound again.

Looking down he noticed a fresh heat signal had yet to fade from the mud, and the tracks led towards the sound. He must've caused the creature to flee, but once he was silent, it had returned to take in water.

The creature came through the brush, snorting and nosing the ground. It was a thick-skinned animal, with short stubby legs, and eyes like black beads. It also had 4 legs and hard feet that sank into the mud as it moved across the water bank.

A'karak placed his self on top of a rock, cloaking his body, and got ready to strike as he scanned the animal for its death spot. When the creature got close enough, he tensed, and when its head went down to drink, he lunged, sticking him in the back of the neck. The creature released a horrendous squeal of pain, turning to gore his attacker, but dropped to the ground dead after a mere few seconds. A'karak roared, his hunter's blood stirring with his small triumph. He had fulfilled his orders and kept his honor, maybe with this gift the elder would forgive him and relinquish his duty to the ooman. He hefted the heavy beast upon his shoulder and made his way back to camp, moving as smoothly through the trees as a slinking shadow.

When he arrived back at where the others rested the ooman still lay on the ground though her eyes were now slightly open and she looked at him with reserve, and pain. He hoped he had not brain damaged her, for if she misled them due to a jumbled mind, it would be his fault.

He sat the creature down and moved towards her, fear and aggression was pounding in the little ooman's blood, he could smell it, but another feeling overpowered both in her and that was pain. A'karak wasted no time. He offered her the water with a growl.

Pain searing pain clouded Cassie's mind along with her desperate thirst. Her head and face throbbed and she just wanted to die right there to end the suffering she felt. Then the creature came back. That bastard! He had hit her! Cassie's heart seethed instead of beat for a while, but what had he brought her. Water! Yes! Oh thank you God.

Cassie reached weakly and tried to take the water, but as soon as he released it to her it slipped from her grip spilling to the ground. She actually licked the ground desperate to try and get some of the water. The creature roared, but Cassie was too tired and hurt to care about his anger.

Damn ooman! He wanted to rip her in half. He was NOT getting her any more water, she could forget it! Let her die of thirst! He was no longer concerned with her. He had done as he was told. Now with a meat offering he no doubt would win the elder's favor again, and the others would deal with her however they saw fit.

He soon learned he was very wrong though. The elder practically knocked him away from the meat, followed by the warrior, then Daturi. An animalistic pecking order was established and A'karak was still at the bottom. He growled to himself and left, picking up the canteen before he went. When A'karak returned this time he would make sure the ooman pauk-de would drink.

He traipsed all the way back to where the fresh water flowed and refilled the canteen. This time he found no more meat and would have to eat whatever the others left behind, which he knew wouldn't be much.

His punishment obviously would not be lifted either. His people did not tolerate foolish mistakes, so he would have to accept his duty to the ooman female whether he liked it or not. If he was to be her caregiver so be it, but he wasn't going to make it easy on her though!

When he returned to their place of rest for a second time he noticed the ooman had managed to roll over on her back and was staring at the night sky. He rattled in regard to how desolate she appeared. Such weakness…

He growled coming to kneel by her. She looked at him, trying pathetically to sit up when she saw the water. Unable she fell back cursing in frustration. A'karak rolled his eyes underneath his mask, chattering irritably. Reaching under her head, its small size barely as large as his palm, he lifted her up enough to drink. He poured the liquid down her throat, and the ooman began coughing and sputtering, spitting a large amount on his mask. He growled in frustration wiping it away, but the ooman quickly lunged at the canteen; pulling it to her mouth with fury, drinking so fast that she would pull back in a coughing fit before going in to devour the drink again. A'karak looked at her curiously as she drank. She was such an odd looking thing. He tried to recall his training to decide whether or not she was a good specimen or not. He believed that she was too weak to be a worthy trophy, but her face did have a fine bone structure to it and in the very least would make a fine cup. He would have to ask Daturi for confirmation on its level of worthiness though.

When the ooman had finished she leaned back against his hand tiredly and A'karak moved his hand so that her head dropped to the ground. She uttered something harsh in ooman.

"You hoe cookie!" He repeated back with his recording device. He wondered what it meant, and whether he should discipline her for it. Just looking at her though he knew she could never handle his retribution. A'karak growled at her though just for safe measure. But she just ignored him! Turning her head away as though he were nothing more than a buzzing _**zabin**_! He wanted to break her neck, but he could not without facing death himself. She unfortunately was still his responsibility, but the minute he was relinquished from his duty he vowed that he would unleash the wrath of Cetanu on her!

He walked away from her stopping at the nearly devoured wire-haired animal, to pick off what meat he could. He sat down and looked at the ooman. She had managed to crawl a great distance and was now leaning against a tree, staring at him curiously. He turned away from her with a snarl, but she did not react, or even stir, just stared at him. It unnerved him. He growled warningly at her and she did something peculiar. Her mouthpart curled and she looked up breathing out a noise repeatedly, her whole body shaking with it. He chattered and cocked his head. What the hell was she doing? Was this a distress call of some kind? It stopped as suddenly as it came though and she stared up into the trees. A'karak snorted, now perturbed by her antics. Maybe he did damage her brain.

He turned back to the animal and unlatched his mask, which emitted a hissing sound as it released. The air here was at least similar to his own mother air, but it was still too thin for him.

He ripped a hunk of muscle from the creature's flank absent-mindedly, tasting the meat before tearing into it, leaving trails of dripping blood down his tusks. It tasted very good, though it was very different from any meat he'd ever eaten. Of course he had been on other hunts before this mission, mostly on his own home planet, but he had traveled with Daturi and other young hunters to a few places, claiming quite a few trophies, and had tasted many foreign meats and fruits. Earth had the best meat he had to give it to the planet.

The ooman was staring at him again, he could feel it. This time he turned harshly hissing at her. She looked confused and slightly frightened, bringing her legs up to her face, resting her chin on her knees. Those big _**dekna **_of hers never left him. He bristled unable to even concentrate on eating. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw her heat moving towards him. His eyes narrowed and he tensed at her approach.

Cassie couldn't believe it; she was in the middle of a jungle, being held captive by a group of aliens. It was her worst nightmares come true, and the only thing she could do was laugh. Laugh and laugh and laugh, like a psycho while staring up at the sky. The irony just engulfed her, but it left her just as quickly and she abandoned her hysteria to stare at the stars, whose residents had for some reason decided to make Cassie's life hell of late.

A hissing noise brought her back to reality though, and Cassie was surprised and almost excited to see that the creature was removing his mask. Finally she would get to see his face! She half hoped that her precious Earth's air would suffocate him instantly, but another more merciful side of Cassie was over taken with curiosity.

When he put down what had once been his face, she drew back a bit. He was the ugliest thing Cassie had ever seen! Seriously! If a deep sea fish and a spider made sexy sin-against-nature love…his face would've been the fruit of their passions. It horrified her, yet she couldn't turn away. He had a large forehead, and small spines around the edges of it. His eyes were sharp and sunken in his face, and his mouth consisted of a small fanged slit surrounded by mandibles. Looking at him from an alien point of view though he was probably a real looker among his people, and she was probably uglier to him than he was to her.

The thought of this made Cassie chuckle softly. She tried not to laugh anymore, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She found it hard for some reason. It all just seemed so damn funny to her. She was being given an opportunity to observe an alien race once more, and here millions of people thought alien life forms didn't exist. And now she knew the truth! But she could never tell anyone! It had all just been a big cover up hadn't it! She had gotten involved with something she was never meant too, and now she knew things she was never meant to know.

She sighed leaning back against her tree. She was famished and even the smell of pig blood aroused in her the deepest primal need for food. Would the creature let her have any, was the question though. She watched him and waited for some time.

He turned very suddenly and hissed at her for no reason though. It made her jump and she huddled in to herself, wondering what she had done. Was he worried she would take some of his food? Thinking on her animal science she recalled wolves, and wondered if she should merely wait for him to finish and then pick off what she could, as the lower members of the pack do. It wouldn't be the first time she ate raw meat, and it seemed the best option. Just looking at his size though she knew there would be nothing left for her. Perhaps if she begged? She wanted the thing to like her, or in the very least tolerate her. Would begging please it or offend it though. She would have to find out soon, because she desperately wanted food now.

Creeping slowly over to him, she dared not get too close, which meant within smacking distance. She waited for a chance to ask for the food, and when he turned snarling at her she took it. With him growling in her face she pointed to the peccary boar and tried to smile.

"May I have some?" She asked sounding as calm as she could muster, trying to establish some form of communication. The creature actually drew back and cocked his head. She pointed again and sounding very nervous and quite pathetic looked at him "please?"

He looked to where she was pointing and made the connection, growling and pushing her back. Cassie pursed her lips in irritation. "I want some food dammit!"

He growled at her again, and Cassie to her own great surprise snarled! Baring her teeth as she lunged for the food. The creature was surprised by this too, but managed to knock her back forcefully, laying her out on the ground. Cassie was hungry though and wasn't going to back down so easy. She would not be kept from food right in front of her! She went for it again, and the creature held her off with one arm as he ate with the other. Cassie yelled in frustration not being able to get around his guard.

Finally she gave up with a curse and sat down; glaring at him…though she was amazed at how brave hunger had made her. The creature looked at her now making a chittery noise. Was…he laughing at her? Just thinking that he might was all the more infuriating.

A'karak stared at the human in great amusement as he gloated his superiority over her with every bite of food. He had to say he was a bit impressed with her fearlessness, but after that little show of disrespect she had to be punished.

He looked at her for a minute and ripped a small chunk free from the carcass and held it out to her. The ooman's body relaxed from its angry tension almost immediately and her mouth curled again as she reached for the food, looking up at him with her enormous ooman eyes. He growled in amusement at her eagerness, and then tossed the meat away from him, turning back to his own eating.

Cassie watched as the meat hit the dirt, flabbergasted at what he just did. Shock quickly turned to anger though as she reeled on him sucking in a deep breath with her eyes narrowed, then stood with a shout of rage as she marched over to "her meat". She grabbed it sitting down far away from the monster, and picked leaves and dirt from it the best she could before taking a tentative bite. The raw meat luckily didn't make her stomach turn, but she'd be even luckier if it didn't make her sick.

When she finished the small tidbit she sighed looking at the stupid smug alien lording over his pig. A gurgle of hunger from her stomach, and the burning hate she felt right at this moment told her…this was going to be a long trip.


	5. Chapter 5: Training

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Training

Cassie watched and waited for what seemed like an eternity of discomfort. Time ticked by slowly. She would slip into sleep from time to time, but the same dream would awaken her. The screams of her dying colleagues as they were skewered or shattered with alien weaponry, Fred's face of death, the monstrous giants who wore their sanguine blood splatters without reverence, all of it played in her mind and forced her back into reality, where she found her alien captors still lingering.

She would keep her eyes shut as long as she could, hoping that if she banished their image from her mind that they would disappear, but this childish theory failed her and she found that hunger was the inescapable realism that would force her to abandon her wishful thinking.

The alien had food; he had eaten his fill long ago, but still protected his prize from every attempt of Cassie getting any. This time though, Cassie awoke to find Mr. Alien snoozing against a tree, beside the pig carcass. If she was REALLY quiet she might be able to get some. At least that was her hunger-induced theory; and apparently it made her think that she was a ninja also. One thing she already discovered was that hunger made her bold, and she began to sneak towards him with animalistic silence. This is if that animal was a raging bull elephant in musk. Every stick that broke, and every leaf that crunched would make Cassie tense and look fervently at the alien. When she confirmed that he still slumbered though, she would return her attention to the meat, which sat invitingly before her, so close…yet so far away.

A'karak knew the human had awoken and was stalking towards him now. She had no weapon so he did not worry about an attempt on his life, one that would have failed miserably for her if she tried. So with a full contented easiness he let her approach. She would very soon learn the pecking order, and A'karak was determined to make sure she ate only when he allowed it. She was at the bottom of the list of subordination, and even lower down the food chain. He waited for his moment to begin his training.

Cassie crept nearer. She could hear the alien's loud breathing now and she acknowledged that he was obviously capable of breathing the air on Earth for he had never replaced his mask, and his ugly mug sat agape. Still he slept though, and that was what mattered at the moment. She was focused on her target and spied a loose hunk of meat she could easily tear off. Leaning forward, over the alien, her heart pounded ferociously in her chest. She tried to control her breathing, but knew it came more loudly than it should. She checked the alien once more fanatically to see if he still slumbered, and in confirmation of that, reached for the meat. All in one moment the creature's saffron eyes shot open and a powerful hand crushed her arm and threw her back to the ground. The creature continued to rest against the tree, but growled at her, though not in a threatening way. He seemed amused! This once again infuriated and frustrated the already exasperated Cassie.

"I'm just hungry gah! I mean …I haven't tried to run, does that not entitle me to some form of sustenance!" With pursed lips and narrow eyes she stared down the monstrous bully.

A'karak didn't know what the ooman was saying, but he didn't like her tone. His amusement at the ooman's pathetic attempt of trying to be stealthy was now gone and was replaced by his normal imposing ferocity. He stood and moved closer to her rattling agitatedly. The ooman to his surprise did not back down though. She wasn't even scared, matter-of-fact; she was staring at him with mutual agitation. He roared flaring his mandibles at her and in doing so at least got the satisfaction of a quick flinch. Now that he had her attention he could teach her who was dominant between them. Turning to the boar he pointed at it, then to himself. The human made a movement with her eyes and tossed her head upward with a harsh breath.

"I am aware the pig belongs to you o' lord of pork!"

A'karak clicked and cocked his head, trying to figure out the meanings of her words and gestures. Frustrated at having no clue he barked at her angrily. He then pointed to Cassie and to the pig, then to himself again. If she wanted to eat, she would obey him. She stood staring at him for a while shifting from one foot to another as the muscles in her brow tensed. He snorted with aggravation at the creature's confusion.

Clicking he ripped a chunk of meat from the carcass and showed it to her. Then barking at her he pointed to the ground in front of him, commanding her to come to him.

Cassie had her ideas but didn't know exactly what the thing wanted, then slowly it dawned on her. It was a food reward and she was to obey him to get it, just like a dog gets a biscuit. Big N' Ugly wanted her to come to him. She hesitated, taking small and careful steps towards him, keeping her eyes on him the entire time. When she finally stood before him her heart pounded nervously, as she was once again reminded of his huge size. Cassie looked up at his face though trying to show that she was not afraid of him.

"You're not going to push me down and throw my food in the dirt again are you?" She asked with a sigh, though it was the obvious he didn't understand her. He did no such thing to her this time though, in fact he chirped at her approach. Was it praise? Was that his way of saying "good human". Had that raspy bark earlier actually meant "come here"? Eyeing the meat she half expected him to ask her to roll over next. That was ok though; she could deal with being a pet for a while if it meant she would not starve. Cassie was far from a pet in A'karak's eyes though as she would soon learn.

The ooman actually understood, he had commanded it and it listened, though with hesitation. He couldn't help but chirp, though he was anything but impressed. The ooman would have to do much more than obey a simple command to do that. As far as he was concerned she wasn't even worthy enough to look at him, hell she wasn't even good enough to be prey. Yet here he was taking care of HER, it was humiliating. How was he to become a great hunter when he is forced to play caregiver to an ooman!?

Looking around A'karak spotted a thick vine and ripped it from the trunk of a tree. He eyed the ooman for a minute and lashed out at her grabbing her by the neck. The creature screamed and thrashed around for a minute before he bopped her on the head and growled, scolding her overreaction. She silenced but still fought feebly against him, trying to free her neck from his grip by jerking her head. This he could ignore, for it did not hinder his work too much.

After sometime the vine was securely around the ooman's neck and he held the other end. The ooman was none to pleased by this new neck ornament A'karak noticed, as he watched heat rising to her face in anger, but she remained sober and still, examining her lead with disdain. A'karak shoved the meat into her hands and began to walk on. The others had risen and were waiting from him to bring their guide.

Cassie gnawed on the tough meat, trying to tear pieces off without ripping her teeth out first. What she would have given for a knife at the moment. Though she very seldom used them (or any utensils) on cooked meat; she began to see why man first founded fire.

The sticky blood was none to pleasant either and had a dizzyingly strong smell to it, though it was still fairly fresh. She finally managed to fight every bit down and found herself once more thirsty.

The thought of drink ignited another primal need in her though. She hadn't been to the bathroom for a whole day and her bladder was about to explode! As she followed along behind the group it suddenly hit her, she halted trying to think of a way to tell her mammoth captor that she had to do her business. He wasn't happy about her stopping though and tried to drag her. All Cassie could do was pull on the vine in protest and shout.

"Hey! Whoa! Stop it! Listen I don't know your word for it is, but I got to pee!" Still he persisted on dragging her, but Cassie dug her heels into the earth and though this in no way hindered the dragging, he finally stopped and turned roaring at her. Cassie was unfazed (though a bit embarrassed) and danced around trying to plead her case.

"You know…urinate…piss…make tinkle tink! Whatever but I can't hold it, and I am NOT peeing on myself! But I will if you don't stop!" Her voice hit a desperate level as she held her abdomen jumping from foot to foot. The alien (though she could no longer see his expressions due to his mask) was down right perplexed and cocked his head, making that clicking noise that Cassie was becoming quite accustomed too. Cassie could tell he was trying to figure her out, but then looked back to the convoy, all of whom were leaving them behind. She tugged on the vine to regain his attention and struggled to the nearest bush, pulling down her pants halfway before looking up. With a groan she leapt back up and moved towards him.

"I can't go with you watching me! Turn around!" She pushed him causing the alien to hiss and draw back with great confusion, but his massive figure was like a boulder under an ant's guidance. She leaned against him with all her weight and screamed frustrated, causing the creature to look down at her making that crazy rattling noise once again.

The damn ooman was_** k**__**ha'bj-te**_**! **What in the name of _**Paya**_ was she doing!? She wanted something, but what? Never mind it, it did not matter; he didn't have time for this! He made his way to rejoin the group but the ooman protested. A'karak was just about to jerk her back with neck breaking force when he noticed her removing her coverings. He clicked in surprise and then rattled in confusion as she shouted words at him again. She was trying to get behind the bushes. Finally he understood. She was trying to hide from him. With an annoyed snort he turned his head. She didn't want him to watch her make water. That was what all the uproar was about! She was such a strange creature… all oomans were! And this unneeded nuisance was not putting A'karak in the best of moods.

Cassie on the other hand felt much better and stood pulling up her pants feeling quite relieved. She tugged on the vine and the creature turned his head back towards a goofily smiling Cassie.

"Well I feel much better!" Her grin never vanished. The creature found no amusement in this though and yanked her behind him with a bark as they marched back to the group. Cassie scuttled compliantly along after him so she wouldn't be dragged. More walking. How long would this last. It seemed like so much time had passed since her capture but she knew it was only a couple of days.

The forest was becoming shrouded in its muggy heat once more and Cassie, no longer scared out of her wits, removed her cumbersome lab coat to reveal a simple white tank top. She wished she could cut her jeans too, but she had neither the moment to do so, nor the utilities. She contented herself instead with staring at the scenery. It was a beautiful place Brazil, and they were very near the Rio Paragual. Cassie's geography was rusty, but she believed that meant they were nearing the border (near meaning it was still be a few days before they crossed it if they continued on foot). What she would give to soak in that river, as sweat, instead of cool water, began to soak her back.

Suddenly the aliens halted. The oldest looking one began rasping and barking. He then looked towards her and made a hand motion to her captor. Her leash bearer turned to Cassie and growled motioning to the elder whilst tugging at her neck. Cassie nodded her understanding and walked towards the more ornamented alien with caution and respect. The biggest alien began chattering erratically as she walked by; it grew to a hiss as she neared, then he barked at her making her squeal and jump towards the elder, who growled his displeasure. Muscles took great amusement in this it seemed for he actually laughed in a deep almost human fashion. Cassie looked to the elder apologetically and covered her mouth as if trying to put her noise back in. He grunted and pointed towards the sun.

"_How faaar?_" Cassie took pleasure in his raspy voice for some reason. She liked its sound, but it was also nice to have someone speak to her, alien or not. The question made her sigh though and she shook her head.

"Much further, days of walking" He seemed to understand her response and Cassie was impressed by his ability, but he was obviously frustrated by what she said. "Perhaps if we could find a vehicle?" She felt it was a risky thing to state an idea without being asked for it, but he looked at her for a long time as though he were mulling it over. His guttural croaking made her on edge because she had not yet figured out its meaning. Finally he turned from her, but before he did so he seemed to bow his head slightly, and Cassie exaggerated a head bow to show she respected him greatly and was sorry for speaking out of turn. She was no dummy even though she knew nothing of their culture. She knew that she didn't want to anger him, and that was all her goals consisted of at the moment. Keep the aliens happy, so they don't blow her head off with their cannons.

Cassie was tugged again and followed the alien who was her captor and who she decided to call Punda, which was Swahili for "ass", a name she felt greatly suited him. The others she also named in her head. The biggest she liked calling Enforcer, because he was obviously well equipped to keep all but the elder in line. She felt she rightly named the elder Sheshmew, which was Egyptian for "leader". The un-striped spotted alien that came and went was a challenge to Cassie, but she finally decided to call him Caghdagh-a, the Mongolian word for "scout" or "spy". In this way she could at least personify them, for they showed her no human-like attention, and Cassie was quite lonely and frightened. She was also still unsure of what their future plans for her were.

A'karak pulled the ooman ahead, for he did not like having her behind him. It was unnerving not being able to watch her. In this way he would be better capable of keeping an eye on her also. She seemed to be relaxing in his presence more and more. In all truths A'karak didn't like it, he didn't like much about this whole set up. The elder even showed slight respect towards this insignificant piece of ooman flesh! Bowing to her like she had just brought him a large kill to feast on. It made his blood boil. This ooman female was being treated with higher regard than him, a fellow yautja who had now slain her kind and in the past, many other kinds of beast. He had fought with his fellow young bloods to rise in rank, and had been personally selected by Daturi to come on this mission even though he was not yet blooded.

He growled looking at the small creature in front of him. She did not show signs of nervousness, and was as bright and alert as any creature could be, surveying the foliage and catching noises with those protruding ears of hers. Prey needed to fear the predator, and she was forgetting what she was. A'karak yanked on her lead to snap her to attention. The female whirled in surprise and A'karak growled.

"What!?" She narrowed her eyes yelling at him. His anger was slightly diffused by amusement at her agitation. He had never observed an ooman up close before and didn't know if her behavior was significantly more aggressive or if she was actually passive, but he found her displeasure laughable. He could break her in half and she was unfazed by his threats. Where this amused him though it annoyed him more and he decided the little beast needed to be punished. He reached out lightening fast grabbing the squirming, screaming female and lifted her up hanging her on a branch by her upper cloth covering. He growled laughing as she struggled and dangled.

"What are you doing?" the accusing and raspy voice came on the tips of a rattle and A'karak turned around in surprise. It was Daturi. He was instantly embarrassed and lowered his head unsure of how to answer his question.

"The uh…ooman needed to be punished." It actually came more as a question and Daturi growled in annoyance, pulling out a shuriken and slashing it at the wild eyed ooman. The branch, severed by the blow, fell with its attached ooman, thudding on the ground, and earning an "Oaf!" from Cassie.

"Stop torturing the ooman." Daturi walked on reattaching his weapon to its holster. A'karak looked down at the glowering ooman and grunted a sigh. Yanking her back to her feet he followed in line behind his teacher. He never once turned to look at A'karak and the silence dragged on for a while. His master's retribution came as expected though.

"You're still behaving like a young pup. I was hoping this little punishment for you would teach the respect you still must learn. I have yet to see results and this disappoints me." His calm calculating voice always put A'karak on edge and made him feel shame more deeply than his master's claws ever could. "Do you know why yautja hunt oomans A'karak?"

He had not expected this question and looked up at his master unsurely. "Because they make fine trophies." He knew by his _**kv'var-de **_master's gestures that he had not said the correct thing.

"But WHY do they make fine trophies A'karak? Why?...it is because they are equal to us in intelligence! Crafty! Dangerous!...Tool bearers and weapon makers! You…You do not understand this though because you have no respect for your prey! You are **arrogant** A'karak. You are young and rash, and until you learn to respect your prey you are unworthy. Just as your brother was." His hissing words at the end set A'karak off and he roared furiously, lunging at his master with blind rage. Daturi turned and slammed A'karak against a tree growling with low threatening tones. "Do not challenge me pretending he was not…he carried no respect for his prey, and his fate was due to that arrogance. With his life his honor was lost. Do not think that I have brought you here due to superior strength or guile. True you are skilled, but I have brought you here to learn. So start, before your honor is lost also." He released the fuming A'karak and stalked off, leaving him to brood.

A'karak's thoughts were far away from Earth as he walked. He was back on the home world with his brother Dreta'ke, hunting in the jungles, and fighting challengers together, making them unstoppable and feared. They had split from the same egg in their mother's womb, and were called egg twins, identical in nearly every marking and manner. Except Dreta'ke had been slightly smaller and more mischievous than his brother, being constantly chased by females for peeping in on bathing and mating chambers, starting fights left and right, mocking the elders behind their backs, A'karak hated him for it. Yet, he adored his brother, and bonded with him as egg twins often do, far deeper than womb twins (fraternal twins) and with inseparable tenacity. They often talked of the blooding ceremony, how together they would move up in rank, share females, and hunt trophies together. It would have been perfect… had Dreta'ke not died.

He did though, and the thought pained A'karak, and with it came shame, for the longer he pained, the longer it would take to preserve his brother's honor.

They had been hunting together on the home planet for one of the most dangerous prey found on their equally treacherous home world. _**Ch'imaka **_(© to me) a fearsome beast whose exposed and vicious teeth, set inside powerful jaws, had claimed the lives of many brave young yautja warriors, whose heads had swelled with so much pride and confidence that it overwhelmed their young years, Dreta'ke was no exception.

The beasts being amphibious in nature, reptilian like in appearance they can only being found in the hot damp jungles of the home world. The males having a pack mentality and a powerful as well as quick feline like body structure were no doubt a formidable prey. The females however are much more threatening being, as with yautja females, larger in size and quick tempered. Their serpentine bodies finding solace in the murky swamps and bogs of the orange skied planet. The _**Ch'imaka**_ fin barbs are more poisonous than any form found on their world and their only weak spot is directly under their crushing jaws. Considered the true descendants of **the ultimate prey - **_**D'yeka **_to the yautja people.

Their goal had been to hunt a female, being the more dangerous of the two sexes, and almost exclusively water bound. For the poor swimming yautja people, it was a prey few dared tangle with…willingly (it is never a pleasure coming upon one by accident), but none the less a delicious challenge. Dreta'ke had been determined. He wanted to present the trophy to an eldress, wanting to win her favor despite being unblooded, hoping that a pairing with her would move him and A'karak up in rank. He was too reckless though, and when they came upon the female they had not expected her to be guarding an egg brood and her wrath was enough to bring her on land. She slaughtered Dreta'ke, and A'karak was barely able to get away with his dying body. His last words to him had been.

"Bring honor to the clan to erase the shame of my death." The words had set with A'karak for a long time, but he had not thought on them until now. He had hoped this mission would allow him to redeem his brother's dishonorable hunt, but it was proving to only shame him as well.

Looking back at the ooman A'karak observed her behavior for a moment. She was ignorant of his plight and of yautja honor. The honor of the hunt which her people often took the opposing part of, yet despite such ignorance she was not at ease. The ooman had become jittery after his and Daturi's confrontation. That had been hours ago though. Did she still sense his tension? Was she that sensitive?

Suddenly noticing he was looking at her, the female tensely looked away and began making a noise in her throat. It was melodious and vibrating. A'karak cocked his head. The sound was surprisingly pleasant. His body began to relax as did his mind. It was quite a soothing sound, like a mother's call, but with different highs and lows.

The ooman once more noticed the attention he was giving her and ceased the sound, shying away from his gaze. No! He liked the noise. He got closer to her and grunted.

"Sorry I'll stop." She said, keeping her head low and eyes down. A'karak recognized this apologetic stance. Quickly he growled grabbing her arm, but not with his usual fierceness. She looked up and he pointed to his throat and rumbled, then pointed to hers. She looked at him for a moment.

"You want me to hum?" She asked making the vibrating noise again to show her meaning. A'karak bowed his head in a nod and listened as the creature began to "hum" once more. It made him forget things for the time being, even how much he disliked her. He began to purr, but realizing how close he had gotten to the female, A'karak roared at himself furiously for being taken under by a simple noise, and stalked indignantly ahead.

This explosive outburst earned a confused giggle from Cassie who was beginning to develop a slight, albeit animalistic, understanding of this creature without even realizing it. If only she knew what lay ahead of the two of them and how much more she'd come to understand about him and his people.


End file.
